Germany

Last night I was able to go to the circuit training class, and my partner ended up being a girl from Germany named Sabrina. She was very nice and we had a great work out. Afterwards she noticed that I have horizontal dark red lines on the back of my knees, and she asked if I had been burned. I explained that it’s from my uniforms rubbing on them, and she said that she had some special cream that she could give me for them. So after work I met her at the German representative building, and she gave that to me, then asked if I wanted to stay around and hang out with them. So I did, and that was a lot of fun! I got to hear about their culture, families, and just see how they all interact. Did you know that to get a hunting license over there you have to take enough classes that it’s like an Associates degree? Plus, it can cost 6-8,000 for those classes. Then, when they hunt, they have to take these specially trained warden type people who then tell you what animal in the pack you can shoot. AND you have to go after the oldest/weakest too. Wow, that so would not go over well in Michigan:)

I’m definitely starting to enjoy it more over here as yes, I am learning to relax and to take the time to hear about what other people do, where they’re from, what they like… All that good stuff! If only I could pick up the language:)

I've been asked what my living quarters are like here, and they're much better than Baghdad. The entire base can be walked in under 5 mins (compared to at least 10 to get to work last time) and I live in an all girls dorm, with one roommate in my room. She's wonderful! The bathroom is right down the hall, and no men are allowed in our dorm except for maintenance, and we have a female Sergeant Major (highest enlisted Army rank) who makes sure guys are no where to be seen!